Regina's Quest
by Raeinspace
Summary: Sequel to The Lost Queen. Regina and Hook are travelling to protect Henry from danger. Along the way, she must confront her feelings for Emma. Eventual SQ.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.**

* * *

Flashforward:

Regina spent ten minutes, just standing on the beach, reminiscing.

"_Neverland_." She whispered to herself, wondering how much time had passed here since she left.

For her, it felt like decades. Of course, dimension hopping could do that to a person. If it wasn't for her magic protecting her, she would probably had aged a lot more. Thankfully there were no grey hairs yet, but there were new scars, ones even magic couldn't remove.

The air in Neverland was alive with magic. It passed over her skin, tempting her to give in to it. So many things had changed since she left. She was weighted down with her new experiences and wondered if she would be able to fly.

_Come_, the winds called to her, teasing at her hair and pulling it away from her face.

Regina raised her arms and called to her magic, longing to fly.

* * *

Now:

Regina attacked the plant with her magic, sending furious fireballs into its heart one after the other. Hook hacked at it with his sword, dancing between the green limbs he severed. They were growing tired.

"Can't let a plant stop us now we've got this far, love." Hook called, having seen the look on her face as he spun to slice something behind him.

He knew how much she hated it when he called her love or anything other than her real name. They were on a serious quest and he seemed to think that made them friends. Or perhaps he just knew making her angry would help increase the power of her spells. She took a moment to compose herself, gathering together the largest fireball she had conjured so far. It was stupid and dangerous. The backlash, if it worked, might hit her. Or, if she missed, Hook could be injured.

Regina just wanted it to be over so they could rest in safety for the night. She took aim and released it.

* * *

An hour later and Hook was still laughing at her appearance. She wandered off in a huff, after reminding him that she had expended her magical energy healing him first. It would be a couple of hours before she could attempt anything for herself, so she returned to the stream near their campsite, hoping some water would help.

She felt the build-up of magic and turned in the middle of cleaning up, just in time to see the portal open. Her heart stopped as she saw Emma step through, immediately worrying that something had happened to Henry. She rushed over to her, panicked words tumbling from her lips.

Emma held up her hands to calm her. "Henry's fine. It's okay."

"Then why are you here? Who sent you through the portal?"

"I came to find you and Hook. I wanted to help."

"What?" Regina looked at her as though she had grown another head. "No, you're supposed to be with Henry. You're supposed to be looking after him. He needs a mother."

"He doesn't need me." Emma told her. "He has Neal."

Regina studied the look on her face. Was this some trick? Was this the real Emma? The stubborn look in her eyes was familiar, but the twitch in her bottom lip hinted that the words were hiding something.

"Sit down." Regina waved her hand and two chairs appeared.

"Why?"

"Sit."

Folding her arms, Emma chose a chair and flopped ungracefully into it. "Now what?"

"You are going to tell me why you are acting like a child."

"How dare you…!"

"I hadn't finished." Regina told her. "I spent enough time in Neverland and around Henry to know when someone is being childish, so you will listen to me. I don't care who said what to whom, or who started the fight, or any of it. I just want to understand why you would abandon Henry _again_, after swearing to me that you would take care of him."

"Can I speak now?"

Regina nodded.

"Good." Tears formed in Emma's eyes as she tried to get the words out.

Regina felt a little bad for the way she had spoken, but she was angry, upset and confused. She knew Emma loved Henry. What had happened?

"Start at the beginning." She eventually suggested when Emma still hadn't spoken.

* * *

Flashback:

When she had returned to Storybrooke, Regina was still slightly under the effects of her second childhood in Neverland. She was relaxed, cheerful and happy, so much so that Mary Margaret couldn't believe her eyes. Emma tried to explain how she had found Regina, but the effects of Neverland meant she was soon loosing her memories of the place. Regina asked for three days before she left. It would be enough time to consult with Belle on possible enemies and allow Emma to finish persuading Hook to help them. In the end, it was Neal who swayed the pirate captain. That and seeing the new Regina.

Henry seemed to want to spend time with her now, knowing she wouldn't be staying for long. He loved the new Regina. She wanted to play and let him do whatever he wanted. Emma ended up having to supervise them after the first evening when she came home and found them scoffing down tubs of ice cream, syrups and sprinkles scattered over the kitchen counters where they had tried pouring them directly into the tubs.

Regina's memories were still a little affected; she couldn't remember exactly what she had done to Mary Margaret to make her hate her so much. When it came time to say goodbye she compared it to the farewell with the Lost Boys. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel as sad at leaving. Partly because she was looking forward to the adventures ahead, and partly because she didn't feel as loved by these people.

She stood on Hooks ship, watching and waving as the town shrank on the horizon then turned away and relaxed. Eying up the main mast she wondered how much fun it would be to climb to the top. Of course, she wanted a turn at the wheel, and it would be interesting to know how the sails were operated. Emma said she had been on the ship before. She had snatches from memories of that, just a few seconds of images here and there, but nothing with her actually helping to crew the ship.

"I'm still the captain, remember." Hook called, when he caught her looking at the wheel in his hands.

"What about when you need to rest? Surely you'll want me to steer then?"

"We'll either weigh anchor or I'll tie the wheel into position. You'll have to do the rest of the work."

"I suppose you're going to choose where we head first?"

"It's my ship."

Regina grinned and waved her hand. The sails unfurled and caught the wind, tugging at the ship. Hook gripped the wheel tighter.

"I can see we're going to have some fun, your majesty."

"I learnt from the best in Neverland."

Hooks reply was lost as the wind picked up, carrying his words in the other direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Now:

Regina listened patiently as Emma explained how she felt scared that she wouldn't be a good mother. She told Regina how well Henry and Neal were getting along and that Neal seemed to know exactly what to say to get Henry to do what he wanted. She had tried being the strict parent, but Neal seemed to handle it so much better and it felt like Henry wanted to spend all his time with his father and none with her.

"So I came to help you, to do something for Henry."

"You ran away." Regina told her.

"No, I…"

"Emma I'm sure you were doing fine, but you can't run every time things get hard. Henry's just a little boy, he won't understand. He's probably just excited to spend time with Neal, eventually the newness will wear off and he'll go back to wanting you just as much. His actions don't matter, he will always love you. You just have to remember that you're his parents and that means giving Henry rules so he knows what he can and can't do."

"I tried…"

"Don't try. _Do_. Surely if you're this unhappy you've tried talking to your parents…"

"Oh yeah, because they know exactly how to handle children…"

"Mary Margaret was a teacher for twenty-eight years…"

"But not a parent."

"No."

"That's why I came to you. Maybe you can teach me while we fight off the bad guys, or maybe you can just go back for me and be his mom again."

Regina's palm connected with Emma's cheek before she could say another word. The two women stared at each other in shock.

Emma pursed her lips. "Aren't you going to apologise?"

"I think I've done enough of that already."

The sound of clapping came from behind them and Emma turned to look at Hook. "What?"

"Took Regina long enough to grow a backbone. Of course, staying out here fighting helps toughen you up."

"Are you saying I deserved that?"

Hook walked lazily towards them, keeping closer to Regina than Emma, just in case she didn't take his words well. "Take a minute to think back on your conversation. Can you not see why she did it?"

"No."

"You might want to think a little harder. Or do you need me to spell it out to you?"

"Hook…" Regina held out a hand to stop him. "We don't have time. I need to find a way to send Emma back to Henry."

"I told you…"

"You're going back."

Emma's shoulders slumped. "But…"

"Henry needs a mother. He chose you to be his mother so you are going to get it through your thick skull and realise how lucky you are and to be there for him. Do you understand?"

Emma began to cry, covering her face in her hands. "But I can't…."

"Not tears!" Hook threw up his hands and turned away, hating to see a woman crying.

"Perhaps you should go back to the camp…" Regina suggested, moving towards Emma and putting an arm around her.

He quickly made his escape, glad he didn't have to find a way to make things better. Fighting semi-sentient plants was one thing; dealing with an emotional fallout was another. Being a pirate was so simple; he'd found any problems could be solved with the pointy end of a sword.

When they were alone, Regina dared to pull Emma in closer, allowing her to cry more freely. She gently stroked Emma's hair, whispering that it was going to be all right. Gradually Emma regained control and stopped crying. She pulled away from Regina and looked at her.

"Sorry." Emma mumbled.

"I'm sorry for hitting you. That was wrong."

"I understand why you did it. I just…"

"It's okay to feel like you can't cope sometimes."

"I bet you never felt this way."

Regina smiled. "The worst time was when Henry brought you home and told me he had found his 'real' mother."

"You coped."

Regina rolled her eyes. "I tried to poison you, had you arrested, …. Should I go on?"

Emma laughed. "But you didn't run away."

"No. When it got that bad, I went up to my room, pushed my face into a pillow and screamed. I brought extra thick pillows the year Henry was…nevermind. You should take a look at them when you get back. They barely let any sound out."

"And that made you feel better?"

"A little. Part two of the survival plan is sugar in any form, and lots of it."

"Not alcohol? Or apples?"

"I don't like the idea of getting drunk while I'm looking after Henry, but apple turnovers can have lots of sugar on top and if they're heated I like a large scoop of ice cream on the side."

"And that's it?"

"Well, the feelings may come back another time, but you just have to be prepared for that. One day they may stop altogether and your life will be perfect."

"Thanks."

"So can you promise me that you're going back and you won't run away again. At least until Henry is at least 21 and can take care of himself?"

"I promise."

"Good." Regina reached around her neck for the small vial of fairy dust she always carried. "Now, lets get you back home."

Emma stepped back towards her, then paused as though she wanted to say something else but didn't dare to. Regina counted to five, just in case it was important, then sprinkled some of the dust into her hand. She spread it against the side of a tree, opening a portal for Emma and watching her walk through. When she was gone, the portal closed and Regina leant against the rough bark.

First the battle with the plant, and then dealing with Emma, both had left her exhausted. She took her time before heading back to Hook. Another hurdle down, with no idea how many still to go.

* * *

Emma passed through the wood on the other side of the tree and found herself in Regina's garden. Had she known this is where she'd end up?

It was still daylight. She decided to go and find Henry, hoping that following Regina's advice would work. He was at home with Neal, playing games on his computer.

"Homework finished yet kid?" She asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Nearly. We're just taking a break." Neal told her.

"Well, another five minutes then back to work."

"Aw, but mom…"

"No. Your grades are important."

"Come on Em…" Neal tried, stopping when he saw her shake her head.

"Can I have a word? In private."

He got up from the computer, giving Henry a look that suggested he was about to get in trouble. Emma ignored it, Now was not the time to have a go at him in front of their son. She just wished he could be more grownup.

Once they were alone, she tried speaking calmly. "We need to show a united front to Henry. If we disagree about everything he's just going to ignore whichever parent won't let him do what he wants."

"Chill out Emma. He's just a kid, of course he wants to have fun."

"And you're his father, it's time you started acting like one. We need to set up some rules, for Henry's sake. He needs to do his homework before watching TV or playing games."

"You're starting to sound like Regina."

"And you're acting like Peter Pan! Henry isn't supposed to be your best friend, he's supposed to be your son."

"I'm a damn better father than mine ever was."

"That's what you're basing your actions on?"

"Well its not like you have much experience with parents yourself."

"No. I don't. Thanks for bringing that up."

"Then don't compare me to Pan." Neal slammed his hand against the door in frustration. "I've stuck around, haven't I? I haven't run away, even with my father living nearby. I deserve to be part of his life."

"I should have known this wouldn't work. Perhaps we need to sit down with Archie and get him to mediate all this."

"I'm not going to that shrink and have everyone know our business."

"Well we can't seem to work it out ourselves. He's bound by the confidentiality thing so he'll keep it private. I just think we need…"

Neal turned and walked out of the room. She could hear him calling to Henry, telling him that they were going out for ice cream. Emma waited until she heard the front door close before turning her head into her pillow and beginning to cry.


End file.
